BMT Nigel Gee presents Utopia

Project Utopia is the latest to come from naval architect studio BMT Nigel Gee in collaboration with the design studio behind TSOM and TIP concepts, Yacht Island Design.

At 100m long and wide, this sci-fi design is a vision of a future concept that breaks away from the current idea of what luxury at sea should be. “Visions of the future are often constrained by familiarity with the present or reflection on the past,” explains yacht design director at BMT Nigel Gee, James Roy. “Much is made in today’s design community of starting with a blank sheet of paper yet many, if not all yacht concepts revert back to the traditional form - the perception that a yacht should be a form of transport becomes an immediate constraint.”

Designed as a floating island platform, the 11-deck, four-legged vessel boasts the same volume as that of a modern-day cruise liner. Accommodation and service spaces are situated across all decks with a retractable canopy fitted to the very top deck. A 360-degree viewing platform is offered at 65 metres above sea level on the '13th floor’.

Using fully azimuthing thrusters at the base of each leg, the structure can be relocated to any destination at slow speeds, and by embracing the same principles of a small waterplane area design, unwanted motion is minimised. “Utopia is not an object to travel in, it is a place to be, an island established for anyone who has the vision to create such a place,” says Roy.

Access to the structure is achieved through multiple helipads along with a wet dock, which is housed in a large central conduit used for the mooring system, a critical design element.